Sunday, August 9, 2015

The Princess and the Player - Kat Cantrell (HD #2391 - Aug 2015)

Series: Dynasties: The Montoros (Book 4)

In this arranged marriage, falling for the wrong brother leads to a royal romance!

Now that her family will rule Alma, Bella Montoro is a candidate for a royal wedding. But the Miami-born free spirit won't be a pawn in her father's power plays. Though he matches her with an oil baron's son, the princess has a preference for his twin brother, James Rowling.

Long the Rowling black sheep, James is notorious for his way with the ladies. Could it be that the soccer star has met his match in Bella? Or will his reputation -- and a little surprise -- stand in the way of a happy future together?

Loved this book. There's an arranged marriage in the works, a case of mistaken identity, a princess with a mind of her own, and some smoking hot chemistry to stir it all up. Bella's family recently became next in line to rule the tiny country of Alma. This is putting a bit of a crimp in her life, as Bella has been pretty much of a party girl and something of a magnet for scandal. With her brother soon to be king, she has to mend her ways, and her father has the perfect solution. He plans to marry her off to the son of a prominent businessman in an arranged marriage.

Bella isn't too happy with the idea, but for the sake of the family she's willing to meet the man and see if there's a chance of it working. But before she can meet Will Rowling, she literally lands in the lap of his twin brother, James. She doesn't know Will has a twin, and this encounter with James is pretty funny. The attraction between them is immediate and hot, even after they discover their mistake. 

I have to admit that the initial impression of James isn't the best. He's the wild one of the two brothers, known as being very much of a player (and not just of soccer). Even after he finds out that she may be marrying his brother, he's still intent on getting her into his bed. I gained some respect for him after he talked to his brother, but even that conversation was a bit inappropriate. I loved Will's side of it, as he could see that James is already in pretty deep with Bella.

Bella was reluctant to go out with Will after meeting James, but for her family's sake she gave him a chance. It was obvious from the beginning that there was no spark between them, as Will was pretty uptight. I loved seeing that she still had the independence to stand up for herself and let Will know that there was no chance of anything between them.

The relationship between James and Bella happened very quickly. They are very much alike in their views of life. When they first got together, neither had anything permanent in mind. Bella's view of marriage has been affected by her parents' marriage, which was not a happy one. James is also not ready to give up his bachelor ways, so they agree that neither is looking for forever. In search of someplace where they can be together, they find an old house that had been in her family for years. For the next several days and nights, they spend their time cleaning it up and getting to know each other. I loved seeing how they bring out the best in each other. James discovers that he has a romantic side, and it comes out in some really sweet ways. It's wonderful to see how well he understands her. I loved the way that Bella sees the good in James, and is able to get him to see that he is better than his father believes him to be. I really loved the way that they committed to being honest with each other about their feelings and their fears. When they finally leave their haven, there are things that they have to face right away, especially Bella's father. I don't like him any more in this book than I did in the previous ones. He is selfish and manipulative and I didn't like the way he treated Bella.

But there is a twist coming to James's life that is going to put a strain on their relationship, thanks to interference from James's father. I didn't like him at all, and what he did was really low. I was a bit upset with Bella for listening to him but James comes through with flying colors. There is another surprise for Bella and her family thanks to some letters that she found. I am looking forward to seeing how that works out.  

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